Enzymes are commonly incorporated in liquid detergents to improve detergency. The most commonly used detergent enzymes are proteases, mainly alkaline Bacillus proteases such as subtilisin Carlsberg. The prior art deals extensively with the formulation of liquid enzymatic detergents, particularly with improving the stability of the enzyme during storage. One recent example is EP 352,244.
In general, the enzyme should be fully dissolved in the liquid detergent to prevent phase separation during storage and to ensure that the enzyme activity is immediately available during washing.
We have found that in some liquid detergents, the enzyme is not fully soluble and may precipitate. It is the object of the invention to provide a liquid enzymatic detergent composition with improved enzyme solubility, an enzymatic detergent additive for use therein, and a method of improving the solubility of an enzyme without serious loss of enzyme activity.